Since it was laid out in the 13th century, Wrocławska Street has always been one of Poznań’s busiest thoroughfares, connecting the Market Square to the Old Town's main southern entrance. It was here that the Wrocławska Gate - one of Poznań's four main city gates - stood for centuries, and it served as the main exit artery connecting Poznań to the centre of Europe. By the 17th century, Poznań’s Old Town defensive walls had lost their military function and were constraining the city’s growth. Under Prussian rule in the 18th century, Wrocławska Gate and most of the city’s other medieval fortifications were torn down, though a section of the original brick wall can be seen just to the right from here, with a nice view of the Parish Church beyond it.
Heading down Wrocławska Street in the direction of the Old Town Square.
Situated at the southern end at Wrocławska 25 is the historic Saski Hotel, which was Poznań’s most respectable facility for hosting foreign and state dignitaries on their way to and from Berlin during the late-18th and 19th centuries. In 1806, and again in 1812, the Saski famously hosted Napoleon Bonaparte, and he even concluded a peace treaty between France and Saxony in the hotel’s Redoubt Room during his first stay. Today it is little more than a row of shops, but the entire street has been pedestrianised and brims with commercial businesses, bars and restaurants, making it a good place to return in the evening (though it can be a bit crazy on weekends).
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